Joining the dots

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I have always wanted Oulook, (my current PIM of choice), my phone, and slate to know something about what I am up to. I mean beyond automatically setting my ring tone to silent during meetings. Google Now is heading in the right direction, telling me the weather in the morning, the proximity of food outlets at lunchtime and bars in the evening.

Context seems to be the name for this tech. Robert Scoble does a great job of looking at why we should both worry and how we might benefit from it.

We all know that our mobile phones are spying on us. If you are in blissful ignorance of this don’t watch Malte Spitz. You won’t like what you see. But what if we don’t mind being tracked as long as we are the only ones to benefit from it.

The challenge is how do we benefit from Context without handing security services both public and private the perfect source of tracking information.

If Microsoft, Google and Apple get this wrong, I will need to watch Enemy of the State again for a new set of tips and tricks.

About John Coulthard

If you’re sure about something, you can guarantee that someone else not very far away will be sure about the opposite. Our views and opinions are a product of our cultural conditioning. Sometimes the effect of failing to take a broader perspective is benign, but more often in doing so, you exclude, underestimate or marginalise whole segments of society. I aim to try to see the gaps in provision, challenge the assumptions and perhaps provide a broad angle view of my small part of the world.